Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The character development was *chefs kiss*. Usually I don't get on with slower burn plots but I loved the gentle reveal of secrets and connections until we hit a point where it was racing downhill without brakes.

There were some elements that were a bit repetitive, a lot of inner monologues from Emily largely of the 'Can I / can't I trust *insert name here*. And I felt like the eventual big bad was a bit left of field.

But these were minor observations because I was hooked from the start. Also want me a bit of Jimmi...

You will enjoy if you like Lucy Foley and similar authors.

I immediately put this to the top of my to be read pile as soon as I got my hands on it and I wasn't disappointed. I loved the cruise ship setting, the glitz and glamour, that glimpse into the world and lifestyle of the rich and famous, the complex family dynamics as well as a very multilayered complex friendship and on top of it all, plenty twists and turns and suspense!! It had me hooked from the start and was such an easy read. The writing style just pulls you along and you're sucked in before you know it. I loved the characters and the fact you never quite knew who to trust. Loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Emily and Belle grew up together and were the best of friends. Three years ago something happened that cost them their friendship. Now Belle is married to Mattia, a much older and richer man. Emily is a single mum struggling to make ends meet. When Belle invites Emily to come along on the debut cruise of her husband’s cruise liner they try to make up for lost time. But Mattia’s five grown up children are not fans of Belle and when strange things start happening Emily is worried. There’s no way off the ship and the destination is a far way off.

I really enjoyed this. The suspense was built up slowly as each family member was set up to be the bad guy then proven not to be. The characters were all believable. I liked the flashbacks to Viola’s story, although I figured out her story very quickly. An enjoyable read.

Being on a luxury cruise ship with one of Britain's premier "power families" must be the ultimate locked room thriller setting! Yet this is precisely the situation that Emily finds herself in, when she agrees to a desperate request from her friend Belle, who has recently married into the influential family of a shipping magnate.

To make matters worse, Belle has actually married the patriarch himself! Now she is supposed to go on a cruise with him, accompanied by her four stepchildren, whom she believes to be hostile to each other, and very likely towards her as well.

There is already a buzz around the cruise due to speculation that Belle's husband Mattia may name the successor to his business empire on this occasion.

But once the cruise is underway, things really heat up, with Mattia's elderly son disappearing, and various mishaps occurring wrt some of his other family members.

Meanwhile Emily is worried about the murky circumstances surrounding the death of Mattia's first wife, a couple of years previously. With so much at stake, can Emily and Belle really hope to emerge unscathed from the holiday of a lifetime?